Sheet-flanging machine



Aug. 26, 1969 H. F. FISCHER, JR

SHEET-FLANGING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 MN m I N VENTOR. HARRVF/$CHER,JI?.

Filed March 22, 1967 ATTORA/EVS.

H. F. FISCHER, JR

snnm'wmmcmo MACHINE Aug. 26, 1969 I 5 SheetsSheet' 2 Filed March 22,1967 R Z W Z w we R N5 m p F T 6 635 w W mm R 5 w m x ml m w a: m.

g- 6, 969 I H. F. FISCHER, JR 3,462,989

SHEET-FLANGING MACHINE Filed March 22," 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

ATTUR/VEKS.

HARRY/z FISCHL-RJA.

g- 1969 H. F. FISCHER, JR 3,462,989

SHEET-FLANGING MACHINE Filed March 22. 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.HARRY F. FISCHER, JR.

A TTOR/VE VS Aug. 26, 1969 H. F. FISCHER, JR 3,462,989

7 SHEET-FLANGING MACHINE I I Filed March 22, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR.

HARRVE FASCHBQJR.

A TTORA/EVS Int. Cl. 321d /08 U5. Ci. 72-478 11 Ciarms ABSTRACT OF THEDESCLOSURE A sheet of metal is moved along a horizontal support, duringwhich the side portions of the sheet are bent upwardly by at least oneset of plain cylindrical bending rolls forming passes inclined upwardlyand outwardly from the sheet and having open lower ends for receivingthe edges of the sheet. If only one set of rolls is used, consisting oftwo pairs of cooperating rolls, the pairs can be adjusted to differentangles to progressively bend up the marginal portions of the sheetduring successive passes of the sheet. If more than One set of rolls isused, each successive set is disposed at a steeper angle to complete theflanges during a single pass through the machine. In the same manner theflanges can be provided with lips extending at an angle thereto.

There are two common ways of forming flanges on a metal sheet. The sheetmay be placed in a metal brake and then, while the sheet is stationary,its marginal portions are bent up or down. Or, a continuous system maybe used in which a sheet is passed through a machine provided with rollsshaped to bend up its marginal portions. All of the rolls turn onhorizontal axes and they are arranged in pairs along the opposite sidesof the sheet.

Each successive pair has a different contour than the pair I behind it.All of the rolls along each side of the sheet have parallel axesextending transversely of the machine. In addition to requiring manysets of rolls with many different contours, the height of the flangesthan can be formed by the rolls is limited by the roll diameters. Thatis, if the annular grooves in the final pairs of rolls can not be overan inch deep, that is as high as the flanges can be. To form deeperflanges would require larger rolls.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a sheet-flangingmachine which is simple and inexpensive in construction, which can formflanges of any desired height without changing rolls, which uses aminimum number of rolls, which can use plain cylindrical rollsthroughout, and which can form lips along the free edges of the flanges.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of my machine;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross section taken on the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section taken on the line III-III ofFIG. 1;

FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are enlarged fragmentary cross sections taken onthe lines IVIV, VV, VI-VI, VII- VII and VIII-VIII, respectively, of FIG.1;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view representing the form of the sheet as itpasses from left to right between each successive set for rolls in amodified embodiment; and

FIG. is a view, similar to FIG. 4, of another modification.

Referring to the drawings, a table 1 of any suitable construction isprovided with horizontal parallel rollers 2 extending across it atsuitable intervals along its length for supporting a metal sheet 3 thatis to travel from one end of the table to the other. As shown in FIGS. 4to 8, these rollers may be large cylindrical rods provided near nitedStates Patent D M 3,462,939 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 their ends withcircumferential recesses 4 to provide journals that turn in pillowblocks 5 mounted on the table. The rollers do not need to be driven. Atthe entry end of the table there are parallel angle bars 6 extendinglengthwise away from the table and adjustable thereon toward and awayfrom each other in any suitable manner. These brs support and guidemetal sheets of various widths as they are delivered to the table.

At each end of the first roller that will be reached by the sheet thereis a bracket 8 rigidly mounted on the table but adjustable transverselythereof. This bracket may be a heavy metal plate that extends upwardlyabove the table. Both rackets will extend above the table when a sheetis to be provided with two flanges extending upwardly, but when oneflange is to be bent downwardly, one bracket will be mounted below thetable. As best shown in FIG. 4, a housing 9 for two parallel sets ofbearings 10 is fastened to one side of each bracket by bolts or welding.Rotatably mounted in the bearings are the necks 11 of a pair of plaincylindrical rolls 12. The axes of the rolls lie in the vertical axialplane of the adjoining roller 2 and are inclined outwardly from theroller at an angle less than 45, preferably about 30. The two rolls arespaced apart a distance at least as great as the thickness of the sheetthat is to be flanged, as the thickness of the sheet is not to bereduced by the rolls. The roll pass thus formed between the rolls isopen at its lower or inner end, which is located approximately at thetop of the end of the roller. The necks of the rolls project from theupper end of the housing and carry meshing gears 13 so that when oneroll is driven by an electric motor 14 at its upper or outer end, theother one will be rotated in the opposite direction by the gears. Themotor is supported by an arm 15 fastened to its side and to the bracket.

At the opposite ends of the next table roller, which may be about a footor so away from the first one, there are brackets 17 which support twomore pairs of rolls 18 just like those first described. These rolls aredriven by their own motors 1?. However, whereas the first set of rollsare inclined upwardly and outwardly from the table at an angle of lessthan 45 degrees, the rolls in the second set are inclined at a greaterangle, preferably about 60 degrees, as shown in FIG. 5. The inner endsof their inclined passes are located at the top of the ends of theroller between the two pairs of rolls.

Farther down the table the next roller has brackets 21 mounted at itsopposite ends on the table for supporting a third set of rolls 22, oneroll in each pair being driven by an electric motor 23. These rolls arejust like those previously described but, as shown in FIG. 6, they aredisposed vertically or with the two pairs leaning toward each otherslightly to allow for spring back in the flanges that will be formed bythem. The lower ends of the upright roll passes are close to the top ofthe roller between them.

With all six motors running, the leading end of a metal sheet of theproper width is pushed forward onto the first roller 2. By proper widthis meant that the sheet must be wide enough for the desired width of itsmarginal portions to enter the inclined roll passes at the opposite endsof the table roller. For sheets of different widths, guides 6 and theroller brackets 8 can be adjusted toward or away from each other acrossthe table. As the leading end of the sheet is pushed against the firstset of driven rolls 12, they will frictionally grip its marginalportions and feed them through the inclined roll passes whilesimultaneously bending those' marginal portions upwardly to the sameinclination as the rolls. As the lower ends of the passes are locatedclose to the top of the ends of roller 2, sharp bends will be formed inthe sheet. The roller prevents the body of the sheet from flexingdownward as its edges are bent up. The length of the rolls does not haveto be, and preferably is not, as great as the width of the turned upedges of the sheet, because those edges can extend up past the rollsinto the space between their necks as shown in FIG. 4. By making thisspace long, flanges of any desired width can be formed without changingrolls. This is an important feature.

Rolls 12 will pull the sheet ahead and push the leading ends of theinclined marginal portions against the second set of rolls 18, whichwill then pull those portions into the steeper roll passes andsimultaneously bend the marginal portions upward to a further extent.With both sets of rolls now driving the sheet ahead, the leading ends ofits inclined marginal portions are pushed against the third set of rolls22, which direct those portions into the vertical roll passes and thuscomplete the bending of the marginal portions upward to form flanges 25perpendicular to the flat body of the underlying sheet.

In some cases it may be desirable to mount a pair of vertical guiderollers 26 on the table in front of rolls 22 for engaging the edges ofthe sheet in order to make sure that the front corners of the sheet willstrike outer rolls 22 close enough to the vertical roll passes to beguided into those passes. To make sure that the leading edge of thesheet between its flanges will not jam against the sides of the innervertical rolls 22, hold-down means, such as horizontal rollers 27, arerotatably supported in brackets 28 above the sheet directly in front ofthe inner rolls 22. Rollers 27 engage the upper surface of the sheet tohold its leading edge down so that it will be sure to pass under theinner vertical rolls. If all that is desired is substantially parallelflat flanges, nothing more needs to be done to the sheet after it leavesthese vertical rolls. It can be run out onto a runout table or conveyorand carried away.

However, it often is desirable to provide the tops of the flanges withinwardly or outwardly projecting inclined or horizontal lips. One way ofdoing this is to mount a fourth set of rolls 31 on brackets 32 at theopposite ends of a roller 2 beyond vertical rolls 22. The rolls of thisfourth set are driven by electric motors 33 fastened to the brackets.Also, all of the rolls in the fourth set are vertical like the precedingset, but one roll in each pair has an upper portion 34 that flaresupwardly and overlies a portion of the adjacent roll, as shown in FIG.7. These flared portions of the outer rolls will bend the upper portionsof the flanges laterally to the same inclination to form inclined lips35. Hold-down rolls 36 are mounted in front of these rolls for the samereason that they are placed in front of the first set of vertical rolls.

If horizontal, rather than inclined, lips are desired, a third set ofvertical rolls 40 is mounted at the ends of the next supporting roller2. These rolls and their driving motors 41 are supported by brackets 42in the same manner as those previously described. Also, as shown in FIG.8, the inner rolls are plain cylindrical rolls like those that precedethem, but each outer roll has a flange 43 at its upper end that partlycovers the top of the adjacent inner roll in order to bend the inclinedlip down onto the inner roll. Consequently, when the sheet leaves thisset of rolls, it will be provided with upright side flanges havingsubstantially horizontal lips 44 along their upper edges.

Instead of forming the lips by rolls with conical or flanged upper ends,the lip-forming rolls can be plain cylindrical ones like those used informing flanges 25. Thus, as indicated in FIG. 9, after the flangedsheet leaves vertical rolls 22, the upper marginal portions of theflanges almost immediately enter inwardly or outwardly inclined rollpasses formed by two pairs of inclined plain rolls 46 mounted onbrackets (not shown) the same as those previously described. These rollsmay be inclined at a 30 angle, for example, to form inclined lips. Theleading end of the sheet continues on to a second set of two pairs ofinclined rolls 47, which may be set at about a 60 angle. These bend thelips farther down so that they will enter the horizontal passes formedby the final pairs of rolls 48. To ensure a sharp angle between each lipand adjoining flange, a vertical roll 49 may be located at the inner endof each lower roll 48 to prevent the flange from bowing inwardly as thelip passes through the adjacent horizontal pass. In some cases similarvertical rolls may be desirable just before the lips enter the 60passes. Also, by using guide rollers to help direct the flanges and lipsinto the successive passes, it may be possible at times to use one setof 45 flanging rolls instead of a 30 set and a 60 set, and likewise touse a set of 45 lip-bending rolls in place of the 30 and 60 sets.

Instead of flanging the sheet in one continuous pass through themachine, a simple and cheaper machine can be used that is provided withonly one set (two pairs) of bending rolls. Production, however, is muchslower on such a machine, because each sheet must travel through it morethan once. In this machine, at each end of one of the sheet-supportingrollers 51 a pair of inclined rolls 52 is journaled in a bearing housing53 supported by a bracket 54 rigidly mounted on the table 55. The rollscan be set at the same angle as the first set of rolls in the othermachine, but in this modification the rolls are adjusted to a steeperangle after the sheet 56 has passed between them and been provided Withinclined marginal areas. Bolts 57 extending through the bearing housingsand arcuate slots 58 in the brackets permit the desired adjustment ofangle. After the second trip of the sheet through the machine, duringwhich the inclined edges may be bent up to about 60, for example, therolls may be further adjusted to make them substantially vertical. Insuch a case, on the next pass of the sheet through the machine, it willbe provided with vertical flanges. This machine has the advantage thatif a starting angle of 30 for the rolls is too steep for a given sheet,a smaller angle can be used. In succeeding passes the inclination of therolls can be increased by any number of small increments if desired.

I claim:

1. A sheet-flanging machine comprising a horizontal support for alongitudinally moving metal sheet, a set of plain cylindrical bendingro-lls consisting of a pair of spaced parallel rolls disposed near eachside of the support with the axes of the rolls in each pair parallel anddisposed in a transverse vertical plane, the rolls being inclinedoutwardly from the support, means supporting the rolls from their outerends, each pair of rolls forming an inclined roll pass with an openinner end substantially in the plane of the top of the sheet support,and means driving a roll in each pair from its outer end, wherebymarginal portions of a metal sheet of proper width passing through saidroll passes will be bent at an angle to the connecting portion of thesheet.

2. A sheet-flanging machine according to claim 1, in which saidroll-supporting means include bearings for the rolls and bracketsmounted on the sheet support rigidly supporting said bearings, and saiddriving means include electric motors also supported by said brackets.

3. A sheet-flanging machine according to claim 1, in which saidroll-supporting means include brackets mounted on the sheet support, andmeans for adjustably mounting the rolls on the brackets for tilting froman inclined position to a vertical position, whereby by successivepasses tillrough the machine vertical flanges can be formed on the seet.

4. A sheet-flanging machine according to claim 1, in cluding a set oftwo pairs of substantially vertical plain cylindrical rolls spaced fromsaid inclined rolls for receiving said marginal portions in verticalpasses and bending them into substantially vertical position.

5. A sheet-flanging machine according to claim 4, in cluding hold-downmeans in front of the inner rolls of said vertical set for directing theleading end of a sheet beneath said inner rolls.

6. A sheet-flanging machine according to clam 4, including a second setof vertical pairs of rolls in which one roll in each pair has an upperportion flaring upwardly and overlying a portion of the adjacent roll tobend the upper portion of one of said flanges laterally at aninclination to the rest of the flange to form a lip.

7. A sheet-flanging machine according to claim 6, including a third setof vertical pairs of rolls in which one roll in each pair has ahorizontal flange at its upper end overlying a portion of the adjacentroll to bend said lip down into horizontal position.

8. A sheet-flanging machine according to claim 4, including a third setof vertical pairs of rolls in which one roll in each pair has ahorizontal flange at its upper end overlying a portion of the adjacentroll to bend said lip down into horizontal position, hold-down means infront of the inner rolls of each set of vertical rolls for directing theleading end of a sheet beneath said inner rolls, and a horizontal rollerbetween the pairs of rolls in each of said sets with the axis of theroller lying in the common transverse vertical plane of those rolls.

9. A sheet-flanging machine according to claim 4, including a fourth setof two pairs of inclined plain cylindrical bending rolls positioned toreceive the marginal portions of said flanges and bend them laterally atan inclination to the adjoining portions of the flanges to form lips.

10. A sheet-flanging machine according to claim 9 including a final setof two pairs of substantially horizontal plain cylindrical bending rollsfor bending the inclined lips down to horizontal position.

11. A sheet-flanging machine according to claim 1, in which there are atleast three of said sets of bending rolls spaced longitudinally alongthe support, the rolls in the set nearest the entry end of the machinebeing inclined outwardly from the support at an angle of less thandegrees, the rolls in the next set being inclined outwardly from thesupport at an angle between 45 degrees and degrees, and the rolls in thethird set being disposed substantially vertically, whereby during asingle pass through the machine a sheet can be provided with verticalside flanges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,266,545 5/1918 Anderson 72178 X1,317,581 9/1919 Kipniss et a1. 72--178 1,397,271 11/1921 Eckenroth72182 1,673,787 6/1928 Frahm et al 72-181 X 2,251,967 8/1941 Yoder72-181 X 2,294,324 8/ 1942 Wilkens et a1 72-181 X 2,348,185 5/1944Bartee 72-178 X 2,471,490 5 1949 Mercer 72181 2,505,241 4/1950 Gray eta1 72181 MILTON S. MEHR, Primary Examiner US. 01. X.R. 72--181

